Oct. 29, 2004

FIELD HOCKEY GAME PREVIEW
PROVIDENCE COLLEGE vs. #6 UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
Saturday, October 30 -- 1:00 p.m.
Trinity College -- Hartford, Conn.

#6 UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT (17-1, 4-0 BIG EAST): The sixth-ranked Huskies of Connecticut enter Saturday's game with a 17-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the BIG EAST Conference. UConn is led by Lauren Henderson, who owns 58 points on 27 goals and four assists. Laura Puddle and Lizzy Peijs each have reached the 30-point plateau this season for the Huskies. Puddle has 36 points on 12 goals and 12 assists, while Peijs has 31 points on 11 goals and nine assists. Five other Huskies have scored 10 points or more on the season. Melissa Bostwick is the primary goalkeeper for Connecticut. She has allowed just nine goals in 18 games this season and has posted 10 shutouts. She has a 0.857 save percentage and a 0.49 goals against average. The Huskies lead the all-time series against Providence with a 19-7-2 record. UConn has earned victories in each of the last six meetings with the Friars. Providence's last win over UConn came during the 1997 season when the Friars earned a 3-2 victory in Providence, R.I. Last season, Connecticut defeated Providence, 4-0, in Storrs, Conn.

PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (10-9, 1-3 BIG EAST): The Providence College field hockey team enters Saturday's game against sixth-ranked Connecticut with a 10-9 overall record and a 1-3 mark in the BIG EAST Conference. A victory against UConn would earn Providence a spot in the 2004 BIG EAST Conference Field Hockey Championship on November 5-7 in Syracuse, N.Y. The Friars last appeared in the BIG EAST Championship during the 2000 season. The Friars are in the midst of a three-game winning streak and have won seven of their last 10 games. In recent action, PC defeated BIG EAST foe Villanova, 5-0, in Hartford, Conn. to earn its first league victory since the 2002 campaign. In 2004, the Friars are 0-3 against ranked teams, with losses to 16th-ranked Harvard (5-1), ninth-ranked Boston College (5-1) and 17th-ranked Syracuse (1-0). Sophomore Melissa McGow (Branford, Conn.) leads the Friar offense with 38 points on 11 goals and 16 assists. Her 16 assists leads all players in the BIG EAST Conference and she is tied for fourth in the league in goals scored and third overall in scoring. In just her second season, McGow has moved into 14th-place on the all-time scoring list at Providence with 58 career points (20 goals, 18 assists). McGow also ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in scoring (tied-11th), assists (second), assists per game (seventh), defensive saves (fifth) and defensive saves per game (10th). Junior Kati Lary (Canaan, N.H.) is second on the team in scoring with 24 points on eight goals and eight assists. Senior Amy Phillips (Worcester, Mass.) also has eclipsed the 20-point plateau this season with 23 points on 11 goals and one assist. Lary and Phillips are tied for 20th on the all-time career scoring list with 48 points each. Lary has 16 goals and 16 assists in her career, while Phillips has registered 22 career goals and four assists. Lary and Phillips rank ninth and 10th, respectively, among league players in overall scoring. Freshman Abby Maguire (Southbury, Conn.) and sophomore Lauren Sickel (Plaistow, N.H.) round out the top-scorers for PC with 13 points and 12 points, respectively. Maguire owns six goals and one assist on the season, while Sickel has tallied five goals and two assists.

Prior to Saturday's game, the Friars will recognize five seniors during a pre-game ceremony. These five seniors will be playing in their final regular-season game as members of the Providence field hockey program. The seniors to be honored are: Meredith Jones (Lake Forest, Ill.), Sarah Dagrosa (Haddon Heights, N.J.), Amy Phillips (Worcester, Mass.), Melissa Kroslak (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Becky Drake (Bellingham, Mass.).